The Scullery Maids
by puzzleshipper4life
Summary: Upon the death of their kind father, Aqua and Kairi find out the true nature of their stepmother and stepsisters; cold, cruel and bitterly jealous of the two girls. But no matter how much they are mistreated, Aqua and Kairi had high hopes that one day they will find happiness, possibly with a prince and a noble.


Chapter 1

Once upon a time, in a beautiful kingdom known as Radiant Garden, there was a great chateau. Living there was a kind widowed gentleman and his two beautiful young daughters Aqua, a girl eight years of age with beautiful short blue hair the color of a crystal-clear lake, eyes the color of a cloudless sky, wearing a white dress made of the finest fabrics with white lace and Kairi, a girl five years of age with lovely short dark auburn hair, eyes a gentle blue, wearing a purple dress like her older sister's. The man loved his daughters dearly and given them equal amounts of love and special gifts for the girls such as two orphan boys the same age as Aqua who entertained the sisters with one playing music on his hand crafted guitar and the other performing magic card tricks.

The widowed father also knew that Aqua and Kairi needed a mother's love and care so he married again. His second wife was a woman of good family named Lady Maxine with her own two daughters with one the same age as Aqua and her little sister the same age as Kairi, their names were Larxene, a girl with blond hair that wrapped around her neck and long bangs and Axelle, a girl with semi-long black hair tied up in two buns at the back of her head, both wearing their signature colors; black for Larxene and gray for Axelle.

Sadly, one rainy night, upon the death of the girls' father, their stepmother's true nature was revealed; she was cold, cruel and most of all bitterly jealous of Aqua and Kairi's charms and beauties, she became determined to be more focused on the interests of her own daughters as they were equally bitter to Aqua and Kairi.

As the years pass, the chateau fell into deep disrepair as the family fortunes were spent thoughtlessly upon the selfish stepsisters, while Aqua and Kairi were humiliated, abused and finally turned into servants in their own home by the three wicked and vain women. Although the two were treated so badly since the night of their father's death, Aqua and Kairi remained ever so kind and strong-willed, for with each new dawn they found hope that someday, their dreams of finding happiness would come true.

And so, as dawn spread across the sky, a young maid the same age as Kairi walks into the two girls' room in the attic quietly. She has short blond hair that reached to the end of her neck where it meets her back, gentle blue eyes with a hint of shyness, and wears a maid outfit with the black dress reaching to her knees, a white apron wrapped around her waist, white stockings and black slippers. Pulling the old, torn curtains open to allow the sun light to shine through, the maid walks over to one of the beds and says as she sat on one edge, "Aqua, Kairi, it's time to get up."

Since the two only tossed and moan in their sleep, the maid sighs and does whatever she could to wake up her friends. But, the maid did not see a hand appear behind her and started to tickle her side, causing the maid to collapse on the bed and start laughing. Soon the two sleeping girls wake up and were laughing along with their friend. "Well that's what you get for interrupting someone's dreams, Namine." Aqua said as Kairi came over to her bed and joined the two.

Once she had stopped tickling her, Namine turns toward the open window showing the palace with the sky a mixture of red and purple. "It's a beautiful morning."

The two sisters nodded their hands in agreement with their friend. "It is indeed a beautiful morning." Aqua reply before she and Kairi said with soft sighs, "But it was a beautiful dream as well."

Curious, Namine faces the two and asks, "What kind of dream was it since you two share the same dreams?"

Shaking their heads, Kairi says as she undid the braid in her hair that has grown over the years while Aqua took the only hairbrush they share to brush her short blue hair, "Can't tell."

"Why?"

"Because if you tell a wish, it won't come true." Aqua reply as she finished brushing her hair and handing the brush to Kairi.

"After all, Namine, that is what a dream is; a wish that your heart makes. In fact, your dreams help you lose your heartache." added Kairi as she brush her hair out to straighten it out.

"As long as you believe, your dreams will come true." Knowing the kind of believers her friends are, Namine could only sigh at how peaceful the sisters are after how they've been treated by their stepmother and stepsisters and now the noble yet snobbish Saix who also treats his servants so poorly who visits the chateau to either bring new servants or to have a friendly visit with Lady Maxine and her daughters.

Just then, the sudden sound of the clock tower at the palace made the three girls jump, making Aqua very irritated. The early chimes from the palace meant the king wants everyone to start another day. Now that it is time to get ready for the day, Namine helped Aqua and Kairi get ready by getting their maid outfits prepared while they showered in the run-down bathroom in the attic. No one but Namine knows that the two girls loved to sing and they had beautiful voices, so they sing to themselves while taking showers, doing their daily chores, and to sing themselves to sleep at night.

Once both girls were done showering and all dressed in the same outfit as Namine, the three hear something down in the lobby of the chateau. It sounded like Saix had brought a new servant for Lady Maxine and her daughters to mistreat. That was actually how Namine first came to the chateau for she was a former servant to Saix.

She was twelve when Saix had Lady Maxine take her as her new servant. On her very first day, Axelle had slapped Namine because she kept on being unsatisfied about her sewing her favorite dress, saying that she wasn't doing it right when Namine knew how to sew very well. Aqua and Kairi had heard the loud slap and had gone to help the poor new girl, only to end up being punished by the stepmother. Ever since the two had stood up for her like they did, Namine became fast friends with the sisters, being forever grateful to them.

"Sounds like a new maid to serve those bitches." said Aqua as the three girls went down the tower stairs and hurried to the lobby to see what was going on.

"Of course we won't allow them to be so cruel to her when she's only just starting." Kairi reply. Just as they came into the foyer, the three maids froze when they saw Saix standing over a girl about fifteen, brunette hair that was long in the back with curly bangs in the front and green eyes filled with sadness and not understanding her punishment as she had several spots on her body from being hit from a harsh force.

Immediately rushing over to the girl with Kairi and Namine comforting her and Aqua standing in front of them since she was older, glaring at Saix. "What do you think you were doing to that poor girl, Lord Saix?!" she had dragged the word 'lord' because of her deep hatred for the man.

"To forewarn her that if she does not satisfy Maxine and the girls, the punishment won't be merciful." Saix said in a matter-of-fact tone since he shared a similar hatred to the older maid since she's always protecting the other maids.

The two were just having a heated staring contest when Demyx and Luxord rushed into the room to separate the two before any attacks could be made from either of them. With Luxord helping the new girl to her feet, Demyx tried to keep Aqua calmed down enough so that she won't attack the cruel lord, for if she ever lays a hand on any of them, well the punishment won't be a pretty picture. With a dirty smug on his face, Saix turned his back and waved them off as he left the chateau.

Glaring darts at his retreating back until he was gone, Aqua let out a growl. "I swear if he wasn't a lord, he would be dead by now."

"Aqua, you know that you must never think about touching any one of them, even if they deserve it for always treating us like dirt under their feet." Demyx said, hoping to calm her down. For many years, Demyx had formed a crush on Aqua. The first time they met when her father brought him and Luxord to the chateau for a chance at a better life, Demyx knew that he was in love with her. Being a musician for the girls as his job at the chateau, Demyx would play songs that made Aqua sway and dance to them while Kairi admired his skill, the same for Luxord and his magic card abilities.

Eventually, Demyx came to realize that Aqua will never return his feelings so he became a supportive friend to both sisters. After they had learned of the true nature of their new mistress, Maxine had those two only male servants be entertainers for Larxene and Axelle while Aqua and the other girls do the work around the house.

Hearing the ring of a certain bell from upstairs and a voice calling for Aqua and Kairi, the two girls sigh, wondering what their stepmother wants. "You two better go see what that witch wants. We'll take care of the new girl." Luxord said as he and Demyx helped the poor girl to another room to heal and clean her up.

"I'll go prepare their breakfast." Namine added and she left the foyer to the kitchen to do just that.

And so, alone in the foyer, the two sisters go upstairs and make their way to their stepmother's room to find her standing before a large window that showed the small courtyard with a fountain and a stone bench close to the trees. Closing the door behind them once they were inside, Aqua and Kairi approach the wicked woman and prepared themselves for what is coming their way. "Now that you girls are here, I have a few things for you to do today."

Glancing at each other at the corner of their eyes, Aqua and Kairi knew all too well that Maxine actually gives them more than just 'a few' things. The long list had included cleaning the large carpet in the main hall, washing the windows both upstairs and down, tending to the garden, scrubbing the terrace, sweeping the halls and the stairs, cleaning the chimneys, the sewing, the mending, the laundry, and that the stepsisters needed them to go shopping for new dresses at the village market.

Having the long list in their minds, Aqua and Kairi bow to Maxine as they slowly left the room and went to take care of what the wicked women want them to do.


End file.
